© EuroFootball.com
The host of the Euro 2004 championship, Portugal, will feel the pressure in the opening match on Saturday against the Greek national team, and if they fail to score a quick goal, this pressure will increase, a Greek team defender said on Thursday.
"The Portuguese will be lost because they are the hosts and these will be the opening match of the championship," Goumas told journalists. "The longer we keep our goal 'dry,' the more nervous our opponents will become."
Greece, which has not won any matches in either the 1980 European Championship or the 1994 World Cup, secretly hopes to disappoint the Dragao stadium crowd in Porto.
"We must keep our goal 'dry' for the first few minutes, as this will give us confidence in our abilities," Goumas said. "I hope to leave the field with a positive result. Who knows what could happen."
He also said that Greece's main desire is to play well and avoid major defeats, such as those they experienced ten years ago in the United States, when losing to Argentina, Bulgaria, and Nigeria, the Balkan Peninsula team was considered the worst in the entire tournament by journalists.
"Why not look beyond to the second stage... we know it's difficult, but why not?" the center back rhetorically asked.
